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SEATTLE - The past 18 days are a blur of surgeries, endless worry and evidence of amazing strength for the Lauren family of Monroe.

Thirteen-year-old Trey Lauren is at Seattle Children's Hospital battling necrotizing fasciitis, a form of flesh-eating bacterial infection that not only threatened to take his leg, but his life.

From her son's bedside, mom Randi Lauren told KOMO News on Thursday she is finally starting to feel like they might be out of the woods.

"No swelling or fevers, so that's great," she says.

It was 18 days ago, at a birthday party, that Trey cut his right knee - he thinks on a nail.

After receiving six stitches at an urgent care clinic he was back home - but by the morning of March 17, signs of infection were clear. He was sent to Seattle Children's Hospital and into an MRI machine.

"They didn't even complete the MRI because they saw the flesh-eating bacteria was moving up his leg," says Randi Lauren.

There have been many surgeries since then to remove any evidence of the bacteria spreading in his leg, and an incision from his ankle to his hip was left open until Wednesday to clean out.

Another surgery is set for Thursday, along with possible skin grafts. It will be another week before the infectious disease experts would clear him for in-patient rehab - so he's not going anywhere for awhile.

Randi says her son's strength through all this - though he was admittedly terrified at the diagnosis - has blown her and doctors away.

Trey, a starting pitcher and first baseman for his team, is missing baseball season right now. But his teammates haven't forgotten him - and he believes he'll be well enough to make an appearance on field by the end of season.

His mom doesn't doubt it.

"It's been more difficult, just not wanting to get my hopes up too high, just to be let down again that he's going to have to face more," she says. "But things are looking definitely in the right direction now. There's more hope. I honestly believe he will do everything he can to be on that baseball field."